Monday, February 18, 2008

Live Aloha, Baby!
First allow me to treat you to some eye candy and hysterical audience participation moments from the luau I attended at Paradise Cove in Ko'Olina (Don't forget to check out the vid in quiz results below either):

Overview Video for the Luau at Paradise Cove

The Fire Dancer (who wouldn't fit in to a suit case)

The Maori

More Maori

Hawaiian Sandwhich aka Humilation=Happy Ending

Learn to Shake Your Booty with the Help of a local hottie.

To break it down, I stayed on the island of Oahu for two weeks, and I traveled the island extensively with my somewhat incapacitated friend. We ended up driving around the entire island by the time it was said and done. My friend told me she was taking me to the “tourist” Hawaii and then the “real” Hawaii. The names I remember include Ko’Olina, Kapolei, Honolulu, Waikiki, the Pearl Harbor Memorial, Hanauma Bay, Hawaii Kai, Turtle Bay, Sea Life Park, Barber’s Point , White Plains Beach, Ewa Beach, Wai’nai, and Waipahu. We didn’t go to Diamond Head because the North Shore was about as stuck up of an area as I wanted to visit.

I really enjoyed most of the places we visited. My favorite event was the luau at Paradise Cove in Ko’Olina. The most beautiful scenery was the drive along the North Shore, and I thought Hanauma Bay was particularly magnificent. Everywhere else was pretty nice. Barber’s Point was an industrial area and oil and other gunk from the USS Arizona leaks into the waters there, so it was probably the least attractive place we visited. Wai’nai and Ewa are considered the “slums” of the area, and most stuck up ‘haoles’ avoid those places like the plague. While not the crowning jewels of Oahu, they certainly weren’t hideous or anything. It was amazing to see what were best described as shacks that my friend said you couldn’t touch for under 5 million dollars simply because they were water front.

I also enjoyed Pearl Harbor and the Sea Life Park. Pearl Harbor is a must if you are going to Oahu. The Arizona memorial is a pretty chilling site. You can still see a few sections of the ship above the brown, nasty looking water. You can also tour the submarine USS Bowfin and of course the USS Missouri, where the Japanese signed the treaty of surrender. It was pretty awesome to walk through for sure. I was quite surprised at the large number of Japanese tourist, but I guess I shouldn’t be as I am just as likely to visit Hiroshima when I go to Japan. The Sea Life part was another great experience and I plan to go back when I have saved enough money to swim with the dolphins there.

I ate tons of food to include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hawaiian, and Tai. I had tasted most of these on the mainland, but these places were more authentic. My favorites were Chinese and Japanese. Hawaiian was good, but they really like deep fried foods and I only have so much toleration for that kind of thing. The Japanese restaurant was really cool because it was the kind I read about where all the food is on a conveyor belt and you pick what you like. I also got to try dim sum in China Town in Honolulu. The fact that it was Chinese New Year was an added bonus. We got to see the Lion Dancers and they did such a good job. They really played with the crowd and they let you get up close and personal. My friend rubbed the Lion’s butt. I wonder if that is lucky or unlucky? The troupe behind the dancers that were playing all the drums and such thought it was pretty funny though.

I ended up with a sunburn from hell, but it was fun showing my Asian friends how a ‘haole’ burns…then peels! They especially enjoyed the peeling, hehe. All in all it was good times and I can’t wait to go back when my friend is feeling better and we can snorkel, hike, scuba dive, etc together. I would also like to see more of Honolulu and visit the Waikiki Shopping Plaza when we have time to explore it all. Also can’t wait to take my sister back either.

Now it is back to the real world where I'll be fixing up my house, looking for a job, and preparing to relocate to Texas!

Later all,

--Shinkiro
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